She of Little Faith
by TheRoguePhilosopher
Summary: Sequel to "Existing"-Carmilla had to turn Laura into a vampire to save her life. Vampire novel, part II. Laura has to learn how to be a vampire, and a damn good one, given the many points of opposition that don't quite want her to make it out of the neophyte phase alive. Luckily, baby vamp Laura has Carmilla on her side. Lots of action, romance, and supernatural beings abound!
1. Chapter 1

**She of Little Faith**

 **Sequel to Existing**

 _ **Author's Note:** Reading the previous story isn't required; you'll understand this one just fine. If you haven't read the previous story, here's what you need to know: Agnes and Mateo are Carmilla's friends, now also really Laura's friends. Agnes is a vampire, Mateo is not. They are in a vampire run city underground, beneath the streets of New York. Laura was dying, and Carmilla opened her veins for Laura to drink from to try to save her. And here we are:_

* * *

"Drink."

The word was the first thing that sounded familiar to Laura, her senses fuzzy, like emerging from a coma.

It was bright and dark all at the same time, and the word kept repeating itself, in different voices, spoken softly but louder than it should be.

"Drink, Laura. I know you're hungry. It's okay." The familiar female voice drew her into more of her surroundings, becoming less and less fuzzy. She felt the hand stroking her hair for a split second, before she felt the hunger.

A violent jerk of hunger immediately took over her senses. She could see clearly that she was in the room she had been sharing with Carmilla, and the exposed wrist in front of her face.

There was no hesitation. As soon as she had noticed the wrist, the smell of the fresh blood running through the veins underneath caused Laura's very new, but still very tiny and sharp canines to pop into place, immediately attacking the skin, feeling like she hadn't eaten for days. She felt her head pounding and heard her own primal growl, although she couldn't stop herself. The pull to feed was too strong.

"Oh! This one's just a little prick. Barely a bite at all." Mateo laughed at Laura, who pierced his offered arm, knowing that offering to be Laura's first meal as the only human in the group was more about his guilt at not being able to save her from the massacre that led her to die, and ultimately, for Carmilla to re-birth her.

Laura continued to make little growl noises, although being so newly re-birthed Carmilla knew she was barely going to be able to drink a few tablespoons out of a trickle of a cut she was able to make with her baby fangs. Carmilla continued to stroke Laura's hair as she had her first feed, knowing not to try to talk to Laura until she satisfied the intense first hunger.

Agnes threw a glance over her shoulder at the trio, but continue to monitor the melt-down across the street from the window, making sure the room stayed safe for Laura to cycle into re-birth. Of course, Laura would still be able to walk and talk, but would be adjusting to her new senses, and most likely would be stumbling through a couple of days like a new born foal. The chaos outside would be much too dangerous for her to survive.

Carmilla smiled down at Laura when the growls turned into purrs, her suckling slowing down. The leather-clad vampire refused to cry in front of her friends, sniffling back the happiness that was Laura not dead, watching her awaken for the first time into a new existence.

Laura abruptly stopped once the hunger was no longer throbbing through her head and her body. She hadn't even tasted what she was drinking—her body was completely driving her first bite into Mateo's skin. When she pulled back, she looked embarrassed, first looking sheepishly at Mateo, then at Carmilla.

"Hey. It's okay." Carmilla said, waiting or Laura to make eye contact with her. When she did, Carmilla saw what was in her eyes.

Fear. She was afraid of what just happened-what was happening.

Agnes was still watching at the window, seeing the nightclub implode on itself, the fires being smothered out by the collapsing of heavy steel and concrete. Most of the city seemed set to evacuate, although that part was less chaotic. Many of the Shadow creatures—vamps, werewolves, necromancers, warlocks—they'd had to up and leave a city in a haste before.

Laura continued to stare up at Carmilla questioningly, slowly gaining her perception back. Her vision was less fuzzy, and it was suddenly clicking that Mateo was pulling back an arm that she had just bitten.

"Carm?" She stuttered out.

Carmilla nodded, not sure what to say. She let both hands run through Laura's hair, somewhat in awe that it had worked. That Laura was a short breath away from death. And now Laura was very much alive and breathing. And had tiny, tiny little fangs and a red, bloodstained tongue.

Laura ran her tongue over the two protruding, sharp points, eyes starting to dart about the room. She could hear the murmuring outside clear enough to pick up individual conversations. She heard voices she didn't recognize arguing about going or staying, or something about all the smoke that was rising to the street looking suspicious, and the tail end of what seemed to be a shop owner arguing with a looter.

The light in the corner that used to be dim suddenly seemed blazing. It was all frightening and unfamiliar and too much.

Except for Carmilla. She could smell Carmilla's scent as the more experienced vampire continued gently stroking her hair, sometimes trailing fingers over her face as Laura sat frozen. Carmilla's smell was familiar, but stronger than she had ever remembered it. She instinctively moved towards it, leaning into the familiar smell and touch burying her face in a soft, pale neck. She felt two arms immediately wrap around her, lips fluttering on her forehead.

"Well, it looks like most people are going up to the surface." Agnes didn't bother to turn around as she spoke, watching the smoke from the previous fires pouring up to the vents that she knew would go through the sewer system, and eventually lead to steam piping out of street vents into the above ground city.

"Are you two going to stay or go up?" Mateo asked, rolling his sleeve back down.

"We can't go to a human city. Not after she's just re-birthed." Carmilla answered quickly, still cradling Laura in her arms.

"Of course not. We can stay too, if you need us." Agnes said, finally turning around, showing her guilt on her face for not having been able to fight off Kris and Kris sooner.

"Thanks." Carmilla said offering a small smile. And she meant it. If she didn't have such good, loyal friends, Laura would have long been somebody's dinner well before she arrived to save her.

Agnes and Mateo nodded, understanding that it was a good time to leave the pair. They would have much to discuss.

Once the door clicked shut behind them, Laura pulled back, giving her room to look up at Carmilla's face. The memories were starting to come back into her consciousness.

Being in the nightclub. Being mad at Carmilla. Being smashed, tied up, slashed. Being an immense amount of pain. Being relieved when she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness, as it would finally dull the feeling of being cut and bled. And then nothing, until she woke up in their own bed. No memory of how she got there, but judging from her first instinct when she awoke, she was quickly putting two and two together.

"Laura, I'm so, so sorry. I couldn't let you die. I had no choice. I know that-"

"I'm not mad." Laura cut her off quickly, running her tongue again over the new points in her mouth. She heard Carmilla let out a long breath before holding both sides of her face, kissing her with all of the emotions she couldn't vocalize all at once.

Laura kissed her back, welcoming the familiar feeling of lips and tongue and hands moving to her hair, her own hands gripping Carmilla's shoulders and back. She lt their mouths seal, tongues reintroduced to each other with a slight iron hint of flavor. Carmilla broke off, taking in a deep breath.

"You almost died." She waited, letting Laura take her time before saying anything. Laura's brow furrowed in thought.

"I think I technically did die. Didn't I? Is that how this works?"

Carmilla nodded slowly, waiting for a reaction from Laura. It only took about three seconds before the questions that she knew bubbled under the surface would start pouring out.

And indeed they did.

"So. I drank Mateo's blood. And—it tasted good. I'm just going to drink blood now? Like that's what I'm going to just wake up and want for breakfast? And I can hear outside and all around us. Am I going to shift into a panther at some point? How does that work? We're staying here? I thought Agnes said everyone is leaving and there is something evil right across the street-"

Carmilla grabbed Laura's head, kissing her again. She was relieved that Laura was still—well, Laura. She smiled when she pulled back, stunning Laura into being quiet long enough for her to answer.

"Yes, you will want blood now. Yes, you have vampire senses. I don't know if you can shift—probably, since you drank from me to birth, but it's based on your own predisposition. And yes, we need to keep base here. You're too new to be up in a human city. Doesn't worry about across the street. She doesn't stick around when evil shit hits the fan and she's found out."

Carmilla didn't need to name who 'she' is. They both knew exactly who she was talking about, but Laura chose not to press.

"Why can't I go up above to New York with everyone else?" Laura sounded genuinely curious.

"Laura, you have a lot to learn. Trust me, vamps left on their own to figure everything out tend not to do well. Your body is different. Your senses are different. And now, there will be humans who will want to kill you if you don't learn to hide those new realities long before we go anywhere."

"What about us?" Laura said, not wanting to get back into their last argument, as given recent events it would be a moot point.

Carmilla shook her head by kissing Laura again, this time slower. She tried to shove down the all too fresh memory of Laura slipping into death in her arms, focusing on the very much alive mouth attaching to her own. She deepened the kiss, her tongue running accidentally over Laura's new sharpened teeth, causing her to pull back in a grin.

"Does that answer how I feel about that?" Carmilla couldn't stop smiling. Part of her new that Laura hadn't gotten to make her own decision, and it felt wrong. The circumstances were certainly less than ideal.

Another part of her was excited that Laura was like her now. She liked the thought that Laura would be able to tell if she was in a room with her just by sensing her and by scent. That she could run at full speed, and once Laura had some experience, she would be able to keep up.

It was the first time she could kiss Laura and not have a nagging voice in the back of her mind at their inevitable demise.

"Okay." Laura answered, smiling back. "This is a lot to take in. Where do I even start?"

Carmilla didn't even know how to answer that. There was a lot Laura was going to need to learn, and some of it in a short time.


	2. Alone in a Bar

Chapter 2

Carmilla felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that Laura was really not going to like some of this, but that it was necessary for her survival.

Laura had licked her lips as soon as Carmilla had lined up the tiny sample glasses of blood on the abandoned bar. She was hungry, having had her first meal four hours ago. It was a tiny drink that she hadn't paid much attention to at the time, but the small sips she had taken from the outstretched wrist had her feeling full and warm quite quickly.

Now, the hunger was back in full force. As soon as she saw the glasses with blood in front of her, she moved to dive into one, not even conscious of her movements. Carmilla moved fast, stopping Laura.

"Carm, please. I'm hungry, okay?" Her voice sounded shaky. She felt like she hadn't eaten in days. She couldn't ever recall as a human ever feeling hunger that seemed to set in out of nowhere, coming in full force.

"I know, cupcake, but I need you to trust me here. It's important that you know what you're drinking." The more seasoned vampire knew how it felt to be new to this type of hunger, but she also knew other things that Laura didn't.

Like the known fact that only one in ten vampires survived out of the neophyte phase. They either fed recklessly and got themselves caught by humans, or thought that immortality meant they were completely untouchable and went into a battle unprepared against skilled Shadow Hunters, or they were completely unprepared for the emotional changes they would endure as the years went on. She herself only had basic, occasional guidance from the mother who had re-birthed her, and had to learn a lot of hard lessons on her own.

It was lonely. And scary. And confusing. And she was going to make damn sure Laura didn't go through that alone.

"Please, Carm." Laura whimpered, wringing her hands together, staring at the small glasses. Carmilla knew the baby vamp was already exercising immense control, considering how hard it is to control the urge to feed at first.

"Okay, Laura. You can have the first-"

Carmilla hadn't even finished the sentence before Laura picked up the first glass, tiny fangs already out, downing it greedily. She finished it in two gulps, putting the empty glass down and smiling at Carmilla. She smiled back, thinking how cute Laura looked with her happy, toothy smile. Her lips and tongue were bright red as she beamed her delight.

"That was delicious!" She went to pick up the second glass.

"Nope. Not yet." Carmilla guided the second glass down, with Laura following the motion, but not letting go.

"The first one." Carmilla tapped the glass. "What did you taste?"

"Uhhh…blood?" Carmilla nodded and waiting patiently, pausing to let Laura know she expected her to continue. Laura peered down at the stained sides of the glass. It didn't look any different than the others. She bent over and sniffed the glass, then comparing it to the scent of the still full glass next to it. She knew she was making the right move when Carmilla smiled at her proudly.

"It's fresh. It smells crisper than this one, almost sweeter too." Carmilla nodded, trying not to show how much her heart was bursting.

'She's going to survive' was all Carmilla could think.

"Yes, exactly. This one is fresh—it was still pumping through a vein not more than twenty minutes ago." Laura considered this, assuming it was from the same donor as her first meal, as most of the city had fled. She looked around tensely for a moment, relaxing when she saw the casks and bottles of blood still behind the abandoned bar.

At least she knew there wouldn't be a city of a dozen or two vampires all lining up to drain Mateo. Not that Agnes would ever let that happen.

"Are you still hungry?" Carmilla asked, snapping Laura's attention back by holding up the second glass, also with two gulps inside of it.

Laura nodded, attacking this glass with as much vigor as the first. It was different. It was thicker, with more pronounced flavor. It was still good, but iron with a hint of what tasted like Worchester sauce. It was blood with a depth of flavor. She paused after drinking, looking at the glass and tilting her head. Until that moment, she had assumed that all blood would taste the same.

In a sort of barbaric way, she had processed blood drinking as purely animalistic. A primal need, where any prey would do. Clearly, she was wrong.

Carmilla waited patiently, letting Laura experience the difference for the first time. She was well aware that if they were in any other situation, she would be rudely staring, but she couldn't help herself. She was mentally digesting that Laura was understanding the things she had experienced over the last three centuries for the first time. Truly understanding.

One in ten.

"It's deeper. I would drink this, but I would have to sip it slowly next time."

Laura was rewarded with Carmilla's smile, her eyes lighting up.

"This one was from one of the casks. It was from a healthy, fifty-year old French man who lived on a wealthy man's diet, sourced from the best restaurants along the Riviera. Quite rare, actually, as it is type AB, Rh negative. It was then cased in oak for a year, rotated every four days."

Laura giggled at Carmilla's description.

"Blood has vintages?" Laura laughed some more, feeling warm, and now only slightly hungry. When Carmilla had said she had a lot to learn, this is not what she had expected.

"Indeed. Also, when blood is not being consumed fresh, we put in some herbs that act as a preservative and allow it to age properly. Only the best for my creampuff." She ran her hand up and down Laura's back.

"So what does that mean for me to feed off of it?"

"It means it's very expensive." Carmilla laughed back, then dropping her smile as she eyed the third glass.

Laura was really not going to like this.

Laura picked up the third glass, waiting for Carmilla to give her a nod. As soon as the glass approached her face, she immediately knew the smell was off. She paused, carefully taking a sip instead of diving in like she had with the first two.

"Ugh. UGH. No! Is this one poison?" Laura made a face, running her tongue across her front teeth, instinctively trying to take the taste of rotten vegetables out of her mouth.

"Good! Laura this is good. You are correct; this one is vile." Carmilla let out a breath and relaxed.

"So you are poisoning me? I thought I was immortal."

"This is from a sick person. If you were to ever need to feed and find someone who is passed out or weak to drink from and it tastes like this, stop. It will feed you, but then you'll feel ill for hours. Only drink a small amount of this if you're literally starving and have no choice."

"No problem there. There's no way I'm drinking the rest of that." Laura crossed her arms and pouted, still a bit hungry. She eyed the fourth glass suspiciously, before turning her eyes with an accusatory look back at Carmilla.

The dark-haired vampire laughed. "That one's not poison. I had to stick it in, Laura. It's important that you learn this now instead of feeding in the moment and learning the hard way later."

'Not the way I learned,' Carmilla thought, 'when mother purposefully let me get sick to teach me not to feed without her permission.' Carmilla also was painfully aware now that she wasn't re-birthed out of love, as she had done with Laura.

"What's this, then?" Laura picked up the last glass, making it clear she wasn't simply going to down it. Not after the last sample. No way. Laura Hollis could be fooled once, shame on her, but-

"This one's good. I promise. Consider it a dessert." Laura eyed the glass, but when she looked back at Carmilla, she saw nothing but sincerity, and maybe a little guilt after the last lesson.

And she really did want to get the awful taste out of her mouth.

She sniffed the blood, immediately picking up what smelled like cinnamon and sugar. Her mouth turned up into a smile before taking a sip.

"Mmm!" She finished the whole glass of the treat down, getting caught up in the moment of delight, and dipping her tongue inside to lick the sides of the glass. Carmilla laughed again, bringing her hand up to run through Laura's hair, who paused mid-lick, turning to look at Carmilla sheepishly.

"Sorry." She said, turning pink and putting the cleaned glass back down.

"Don't be sorry. What does that one taste like?"

"Like blood, but made of apples and cinnamon and whipped cream. That was delicious! I can have that?" Laura suddenly liked being a vampire very much.

"You can, in small amounts. Consider it a special treat. This is Fynnoderee blood. That's why it's so sweet. They're known for being one of the sweetest types of Fairies. Well, Brownie-Fairy. They're so damn sweet all the time because it's in their blood."

"Oh." Laura took a moment to digest, both the meal and the information. "I guess I'm confused?"

"You can drink the blood of other Shadows. Although remember, it needs to be willingly given or from a bottle. Trying to seduce any non-human into giving something they don't want to will be met with a fight, and every Shadow has special abilities. I'd recommend staying away from werewolves altogether; they taste like dirt. And drinking from other vampires had side effects."

Laura started to panic at all of the new information. She had thought it was as simple as bite, drink, rinse, repeat—not that there would be kinds of blood or so much to think about. Should she be taking notes? Should she be taking notes and then highlighting them?

"What about you?" The question seemed to come out of the blue, startling Carmilla. "What do you like to drink?"

Carmilla smiled, returning her hands to Laura's hair.

"Well, you're my favorite snack, but that's going to be a little different now. But I suppose when I have the opportunity, my first choice is always fresh." She tapped the first glass as she spoke.

Laura thought back to when she learned Carmilla had been drinking from a blood prostitute. It made her uneasy, but she kind of understood. Having felt the hunger herself, if she were alone and hungry…she could understand the allure and have it be non-sexual.

"I like them all." Laura said, leaning into Carmilla's touch.

"Mmmhmm." Carmilla enjoyed feeling Laura's silky smooth hair draping through her fingers. It was still soft, but now had the shimmer that accompanied being a vampire. Laura's skin glowed in a way that distracted Carmilla's brain, the old vampire very much wanting to kiss the skin along her collarbone. Laura was always beautiful, but the slight changes in appearance began to stir in Carmilla, knowing a second type of hunger would be occurring in Laura shortly, and that in and of itself would be another lesson. She paused, getting up to pour herself a glass. She had started to get hungry herself.

"It's a good idea not to let yourself get too hungry, or you might make some bad decisions. If you go days without a good meal, you're likely to pounce on anyone passing by out of instinct."

"I won't." Laura said, place her hand on Carmilla's thigh once the vampire sat back down with a glass of the Frenchman's vintage.

"You know not to, but it's going to be hard to remember in the moment." Carmilla forced her mind to empty itself of every worst-case scenario that she left unspoken.

In case something happens and I'm not with you. In case something happens to me. In case of another incident like the riot at the club and you're injured and will feel hunger to heal. Just in case.

Laura picked up the still full third glass, smelling the rotting scent.

"If I ever forget and voluntarily drink this, you known I went past hungry and into insane. Bleh." Carmilla let out a laugh at Laura's scrunched-up 'yucky' face. She reached over the bar, pulling out a small, silver bottle, re-filling the glass with Brownie blood. She handed it to Laura, clinking her own glass with it.

"Let's finish dinner."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the last chapter in this series that I'm posting on this site. If you're reading and want to continue, I am on Archive of Our Own. Same username, and the story has the same name. I'm not leaving FF! It's just extra work to post over here when most of the fandom is over there, so...you know...laziness lol.

Thanks for reading!


End file.
